Resolute Spirit
by Inkweaver22
Summary: The Man in the Moon makes a new legend. Not wanting to make the same mistake as they did with Jack, the Guardians take him in to help him develop his powers and find his center. BunnyXOC JackXTooth Rated T because I'm paranoid. OC's WANTED FOR CAMEOS! PLEASE PM ME!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello and welcome to Resolute Spirit! I have high hopes for this fic so I welcome you along for the ride!**

**I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the books it is based of.**

* * *

It was New Year's Eve in the small town of Galion. Quinn Wu and his Chinese-American family all sat in the living room of their modest two-story home, talking and having a good time. Quinn looked like most 17 year old Chinese boys: average height, short black hair, pale skin. The one thing that set him apart from everyone else were his eyes. While most of his family had brown or amber colored eyes, Quinn's were a dazzling bright blue; a very uncommon color for one of Chinese decent.

Quinn's eyes were currently sparkling with a child-like excitement as he waited for midnight. Of all the holidays his family celebrated, he always loved New Year's the most. Not even the wonder of Christmas morning could compare the joy that the end and beginning of each year brought to him. He couldn't explain it, but something about the festivities always made him giddy.

Quinn glanced at the clock and grinned when he saw what it read. It was time for his favorite part of his favorite holiday.

"It's 9:30!" He stated excitedly, gaining the attention of his family. "It's time for New Year's resolutions!"

"How about you go first this year David." Said Quinn's father, Kai, to his older sister's fiancé.

"Yeah!" Mai agreed as she squeezed the hand of her true love encouragingly.

"Alright. My New Year's resolution is to get to know each one of you a little better before the wedding." There was some polite applause to his announcement.

"I guess the same goes for me and your family." Mai said. The pair shared a kiss to more clapping.

"Who's next?" Kai asked.

"I'll go." Said Zane, Quinn's older brother. "My resolution is to quit smoking." There was gasps of general surprise and the applause was much more enthusiastic.

"I suppose I'm next." Quinn's mother, Jane, volunteered. "This year, I plan on being on time." There were several chuckles as they all thought of the times they had been late to important events because of her terrible sense of time.

"Me next! Me next!" Exclaimed Quinn's five year old sister, Lorelei. "I'm gonna get over being scared of tall places!" Their grandmother, Leann, leaned down and picked up the young girl in an affectionate hug.

"That's a wonderful goal Rosebud." The elderly woman praised.

"What's your resolution Nana Willow?" Lorelei questioned.

"I'm going to write a letter to each of you." She stated simply.

"What kind of resolution is that?" Kai asked his mother. Leann glared teasingly at her only son.

"Let's hear yours then if mine is so terrible." She joked.

"Fine. My resolution is to spend more time with my family. Now that I've been promoted, I have more vacation time." The family gasped at this announcement. This is the first they've heard of his advancement.

"Alright, alright." Kai said to quiet everyone down. "We still have one last resolution to hear." They all turned expectantly to Quinn who grinned.

"My resolution," he paused for dramatic effect. "Is to help you all with your resolutions!"

"Again?" Zane sighed in exasperation. "You've been making that goal for the past four years!"

"So?" Quinn defended. "I _like_ helping you all!"

"Of course you do." Leann soothed. "And that's what makes you special. How about for this year, you add another resolution. One for yourself." Quinn thought for a few moments.

"How about…I try to stop biting my nails?" He offered.

"Perfect!" His grandmother exclaimed. "Now that that is settled, who wants to face me at Mahjong?"

As the adults set up the game, Quinn noticed Zane leave the room. The teen followed him outside.

"Where are going?" He asked.

"I'm going to have a quick smoke." Zane replied, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

"What about your New Year's resolution?"

"The new year isn't here yet." He rationalized as he took out his lighter as well.

"It's never too early to start working on it." Quinn argued. His older brother sighed in exasperation.

"You're not going to let me smoke in peace, are you?"

"Nope." Quinn said with a smirk.

"Fine, you win for now. But you know it's impossible for someone to quit cold turkey." The two brothers returned to the living room, where the tile-based game was in full swing. Zane began to watch as Quinn made his way into the kitchen. He was surprised to find Lorelei sitting at the table by herself with a troubled look on her face.

"Hey Rosebud." He said cheerfully as he sat next to her. "What's up?"

"Quinn, is Santa real?" The five year old asked up front. Quinn raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, Cousin Matt told me he wasn't real." Lorelei answered with watery eyes. The teenager scowled.

Their cousin had been at their house about a week ago for Christmas. Quinn loved his entire family and would do anything for them, but Cousin Matt irked him to no end. He was a total jerk, always saying mean or discouraging things to his younger relatives whenever he had the chance. Quinn made a mental note of bringing this up to his Aunt and Uncle the next time he saw them.

"Matt doesn't know what he's talking about."

"So, Santa's real?"

"Of course he is!" He confirmed with a smile.

"And the Easter Bunny is real too?" Hope shined in the young girl's eyes. "And the Tooth Fairy and the Sand Man as well?"

"Yep, even Jack Frost is real." Lorelei seemed confused.

"Who's Jack Frost?" She asked.

"Who's Jack Frost?!" Quinn exclaimed. "He's the reason we have winter!" He glanced out the window. "In fact, he's making it snow right now."

His younger sister gasped and turned to see that it was indeed snowing. Squealing in delight, the five year old ran into the living room.

"It's snowing!" She shouted as she jumped up and down in excitement. "Jack Frost is making it snow!"

Quinn chuckled at her enthusiasm and turned to watch the snow fall. His eyes widened in surprise at what he saw. A boy, no older than he was, with snow white hair and bright blue eyes, was peering through the window at his sister. A smile was plastered onto his face as she danced around the room. The boy looked up and froze when he met Quinn's gaze, his own eyes widening.

"What're you looking at Quinn?" Quinn glanced over to Lorelei for a second and then back to the window. The boy had vanished! Quinn blinked in confusion. He was certain he hadn't imagined him…

"Quinn?" His younger sister seemed concerned. "What's wrong?"

A slow smile spread across his face. "Nothing's wrong. Jack Frost was just waving through the window." His smile grew wider when she went into an even bigger fit of excitement. He gazed out of the window at the falling snow without a hint of doubt of who he had just seen.

* * *

Jack Frost landed at the front door of North's workshop where the annual Legend New Year's party was being held. He was still smiling like a kid in a candy store at what had happened. A teenager believed in him! A teenager! Sure it was great that more kids were starting to believe in him, but a teenager? The snow spirit had heard stories from the other guardians of the few rare children that grew up into teens, but still believed in them. But he had never expected it to happen to him. He couldn't wait to tell them.

Jack knocked on the door and waited for it to open. After he had caused a huge snow storm across most of North America so that the children could have something fun to do for the first day of the year, Jack had gone to Jamie's house to change for the party. Instead of his hoodie, Jack now wore a military style tunic that was light blue with a silver border around the edges and a simple black belt with a matching silver buckle. Underneath it he had a skin-tight, black turtle-neck shirt. His old brown cloak that shimmered in the light completed the ensemble, clasped at the base of his neck by a silver snowflake.

North had made the formal attire for the young guardian and had insisted that he wore it to all special occasions. While Jack, being the protector of fun, hated dressing up for anything, he had to admit that the clothes made him look good.

A large yeti opened the door and spoke in excited gibberish to the winter spirit.

"Hey there Phil," Jack greeted with a smile. "I'm not late am I?" The yeti just spouted off more happy nonsense and ushered him inside. Spirits of all shapes and sizes mingled throughout the workshop. Jack recognized most of them, but there were still a few he couldn't name. The frost spirit scanned the crowd, searching for four faces in particular.

"Jack!" He turned to where the shout had come from just in time to be tackled by a blur of green and blue feathers. The spirit laughed as he returned the hug.

"Tooth!" The pair spun in the air for a second before gazing into each other's eyes. Jack leaned in and kissed her passionately.

"How was work today?" The Tooth Fairy asked teasingly when they had separated.

"Exhausting!" He mock complained, leaning on his staff. "I went to cover most of Asia and Europe in frost and snow and then to top it all off, I decided to give most of North America a huge blizzard! All that flying back and forth killed my wings!" Tooth laughed at this. "But still…" He said with a seriously. "It would be nice to be able to cause snow storms from anywhere. That way I could spend more time with you."

"Oh Jack!" Tooth punched him playfully while blushing. The snow spirit pulled his love into another kiss before taking her hand and wading through the party guests.

"So where are the others?" He asked as they wondered without a real destination in mind.

"I think North and Sandy are talking with Father Time." The Guardian of Memories said, looking around. "Oh look! There's Bunny and Rose!"

Jack turned to see the Easter Bunny and Mother Nature sitting on a bench together, simply enjoying each other's company. The spirit of the Earth was beautiful girl that looked no older than Jack. She was about his height and normally wore a short, flowing green dress decorated with leaves. Tonight however, she wore a full-length white ball gown with green vines embroidered into the border of the sleeves and skirt. Her waist long brown curly hair had been straightened and pulled up into a bun and was decorated with flowers. Her skin was pale with a slight green tint, not needing any makeup or jewelry to add to her graceful appearance. Like always, she wasn't wearing any shoes.

The Guardian of Fun remembered when he had first met Rose. It had been four months after they had defeated Pitch. He had been depressed due to the memories his teeth held. While they showed him images of happy times he spent with his sister, they did not tell him what her name was. That was when Tooth brought him to Rose's garden. There he learned that the nature spirit's center was Family and considered herself a guardian even though she hadn't been officially chosen by Manny. He also learned that she was Bunnymund's ex-girlfriend and that the blizzard he had caused in '68 is what caused them to break up.

Using her connection with the Earth, Rose had led him to where his sister was buried. He had finally learned his sister's name. It was an extremely emotional moment for him. Of course, that was exactly when Pitch decided to resurface. He attacked them with a frightening new power. He was able to control the fear inside of Rose like a puppet master would control a marionette, forcing her to attack them. They had been able to pull through the battle remotely unscathed, but it put them all onto high alert.

A few days later, the Boogeyman struck again. There had been a close call with Rose nearly losing her life. She was saved however with a magic rose she had given Jamie earlier that evening. She had then dealt with Pitch herself, uprooting his entire palace and beating him to a pulp, forcing him to retreat back into the shadows.

Throughout this adventure, Rose and Bunny's love for each other had been reignited. In fact, those events had been the main reason Jack and Tooth were together now as well. That had been about four months ago.

"Tooth!" Rose had called out when she noticed the pair, pulling Jack out of his reminiscing. They made their way to the bench where the other couple sat.

"Hey there Frostbite." Bunny said to the young guardian.

"Hey there Kangaroo." Jack responded with a grin. They had long since gotten over their bitterness towards one another and always greeted each other in such a playful manner. Sure, Bunny still got angry at the pranks Jack played on him and always retaliated by tackling him to the ground, but it was more like a sibling rivalry than anything else.

"How's the party going for you two?" Tooth asked.

"It's kind of boring to be honest." Rose said with a sigh. "At least Bunny's here to make up for that." Bunny leaned down and kissed her on the cheek affectionately.

"A boring party? We can't have that now can we?" Jack said with a mischievous grin. "As the Guardian of Fun I know just how to fix that." Several of the Legends nearby overheard him and immediately became interested.

"How do you plan to do that?" Asked Jack 'O Lantern, the spirit of autumn.

"Yes, please enlighten us." Added Eros in a curious tone.

"Follow me and you'll find out." The winter spirit answered. He led Tooth, Bunny, Rose, and about eight other Legends to a round able. As they all took a seat, Jack accepted an empty apple cider bottle from the yeti he had requested it from. He placed it at the center of the table and grinned at them all. "Anyone ever hear of 'Spin the Bottle'?"

The rules were simple. One would spin the bottle and whoever the spout pointed at when it stopped they would have to kiss, on the lips, for at least five seconds. Hilarity ensued once the game got under way. First Jack 'O Lantern had to kiss April Showers. Then it was Lucky the Leprechaun and Rose. Bunny had to be restrained as laughter rang out. Their loud merry making caught the attention of the rest of the guests, and soon the entire party centered on the round table, Legends jumping in and out of the game at their own leisure.

It was Bunny's turn to spin. He grabbed the bottle and gave it a flick. The bottle spun round and round until it began to slow. The crowd waited with baited breath as it continued to reduce in speed. There was a short pause when it finally stopped.

The spout was pointing to Jack. Not Jack 'O Lantern, but Jack Frost.

There was uproarious laughter and loud cat calls as the two guardians sputtered and tried to excuse themselves from the table. There was to be no escape however as they were shoved towards each other. Accepting their fate and blushing furiously, they closed their eyes and leaned into the kiss. The crowd cheered loudly and several cameras flashed.

Once the five seconds were up, they pulled away quickly and made their way to their girlfriends, only to find them missing. When they asked where they were, they were told that they both had received bad nose bleeds all of a sudden and had rushed to the restroom.

"Great. Now we're never goin' to live this down." Bunny grumbled in embarrassment.

"It's the other way around." Jack said with a grin. "We can have so much fun messing with Tooth and Rose now."

"What do ya mean, mate?"

"What causes nose bleeds?" Bunny scratched his head in confusion.

"Lots o' things, mate; high altitude, gettin' punched, seeing something suggestive…" The dots connected in his mind as he realized what Jack was implying. "No." He said sternly.

"Come on! It'll be fun!"

"No."

"Just imagine the looks on their faces!"

"No."

"We don't have to kiss again. We can just…"

"_Absolutely not._" The Easter Bunny growled.

"Fine, but we're missing out on loads of pranking opportunities."

The game finally winded down as the guests made their way to the main hall. There, Father Time would be giving his annual yearly report on everything important that had happened. The Legends all quieted down as the time keeping spirit stepped onto a small podium that had been set up for him.

"Before I get started, I would like to thank North for hosting this year's get together." There was hearty applause as the jolly Russian nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Now, many things happened this past year, many great and tragic things. But I would like to focus on just three this year." There was a murmur of surprise at this announcement. "The first major event of the year came about around Easter. Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, had attempted to destroy the children's belief in the Guardians. He had nearly succeeded too if it wasn't for MiM's newest hero. And so, I name the first significant event of the past year to be the choosing of Jack Frost as a Guardian!" There was thunderous applause as Jack rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Next, almost exactly four months later, Pitch had reappeared and attacked the guardians directly. He was defeated once again, but that is not what I found important. No, it was the love that bloomed afterwards that caught my attention. And so, I name the second significant event of the past year to be the love between E. Aster Bunnymund and Rose and Jack Frost and Toothiana!" The cheering was deafening as the two couples shared a loving kiss with their respectful partners. Father Time waited until everyone had settled down before continuing. His face had fallen into an expression of deep sadness.

"It is with a heavy heart that I name the final event. On December 14th, twenty precious lights were snuffed out in a small town of Connecticut. Twenty innocent children were taken from the world in a violent manner. Twenty families were forced to grieve over their lost young ones. Let us all now have a moment of silence for those children. As we do so, pray to Man in the Moon that such a tragedy may not happen in the coming year."

The entire workshop fell silent as they all paid their personal respects to the fallen children. Jack held Tooth close as she wept silently into his tunic, Rose doing the same for Bunny. After several minutes, Father Time spoke up one last time.

"Thank you all for showing your respect. May the coming year be filled with much more joyous occasions. Thank you all for attending."

With a spattering of respectful applause, the guests returned to the party, waiting for midnight. With such a somber thought left in their minds, they all wondered what the New Year would hold. The guardians were especially thoughtful, each wondering what they could do to prevent another terrible disaster.

Jack sighed as he gazed at the other guests. The fun and happy atmosphere he had brought was gone. He debated whether he should try livening things up again, but decided it might be considered disrespectful. So he held Tooth close in an attempt to comfort her as they waited for the New Year.

* * *

**Thank so much for taking the time to read this! I'm sure there's a lot I can improve on, and there are probably a lot of mistakes in this, so thanks for reading!**

**Now for shout outs!**

**First, would like to thank MagentaCarther for allowing me to use Rose. Go check out their fanfic "Frost Smitten." **

** s/8735218/1/**

**Secondly, I would like to thank Malakialagatta on deviantART for allowing me have Jack 'O Lantern cameo in this. Here's what he looks like: **

** art/Autumn-Bringer-322167757**

**And if you want to play with Google Translate, here's the fanfic he's in (it's in Italian):**

** . ?sid=1440392&i=1**

**Now, Jack's outfit is based off this picture:**

** favourites/49236573?offset=48#/d5nl2nz**

**And I think that's it for now! Please review and stay tuned for chapter two!**


	2. Chapter 2

**…**

**So apparently, this website doesn't like links to other pages. *shrugs* Oh well, the links are on my profile now so you can check them out there!**

**Anyways, this is probably the most I've ever written for anything. It's over 4,000 words long! **

******Without further ado, here's chapter two! (Hey! I'm a poet and I didn't even realize it! ;D )**

* * *

Quinn was yanked from his peaceful dreams by the harsh blaring of the fire alarm. Groaning, the teen covered his head with his pillow, trying to block out the offending noise. His house's electricity had been wired improperly, causing the alarm to go off at random. The seventeen year old was used to it by now, but he still found it very irritating when he was trying to sleep. Footsteps could be heard in the hall; most likely his father going to turn off the alarm like he always did. He readjusted himself into a more comfortable position and waited for the loud beeping to go away.

Quinn frowned and sat up. It had been several minutes since the alarm had started up, and still it continued to sound off. He took a deep breath and nearly gagged at the smell of smoke. His pulse began to quicken, hoping against hope that this wasn't happening.

"_**FIRE!**_"

His hope shattered when he heard his father's frantic shout. Quinn sat there, uncertain of what to do. The sound of more footsteps and panicked shouts brought him out of his stupor. He jumped out of his bed and slipped on his shoes as quick as possible. Grabbing his coat, he dashed out of his room. His family was rushing to the stairs, most still in their pajamas.

"What's happening Quinn?" His younger sister asked, completely frightened. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the stairs.

"We need to get out of the house!" Quinn said in panic. The rest of the family had already made it to the first floor as he and his sister started down. They were about half way when Lorelei gasped.

"Gabe!" She let go of his hand and rushed back upstairs to rescue her favorite stuffed animal. After letting loose one of his grandmother's Chinese swears, the teenager followed her to her room. She clutched the small lion to her chest as he scooped her up, heading back into the hall. His heart leapt to his throat when he saw thick plumes of black smoke billowing up the stairwell, the menacing orange flicker not far behind. How had it spread so fast?

Still carrying his sister, Quinn rushed to the room furthest from the stair; their grandmother's. He closed the door behind them and set Lorelei on the bed. The air was starting to become warm and stale. The teen quickly opened the window, breathing in the crisp January air. He gazed down across street to find his family and several neighbors gathered around their mail box across the street. Kai was restraining Jane as she tried to run back into the house to find her two children.

"_Quinn_! _Lorelei_!" She screamed frantically as she fought her husband's firm grasp. The teen cupped his hands to his mouth.

"We're up here!" He shouted, drawing their attention. "There's smoke coming up the stairs so we can't get out!"

"Don't worry!" Zane shouted back. "The fire department is on its way! You're going to be fine!" Even when he was shouting, Quinn could hear the doubt in his brother's voice. He looked around and soon found the reason to it.

Jack Frost had visited them unexpectedly earlier in the night, a foot of snow covering the streets. He realized it would take a while for the fire trucks to drive all the way across town in this; even if the snow plow was driving in front of them. His heart fell as the truth of the situation set in: They weren't going to get there in time.

His mother was sobbing now as she too came to the awful realization. Kai was holding her close, gazing up at his son with concern. Zane was supporting their grandmother, who was also crying. His older brother just stared in the direction of the town, waiting to hear the fire engines' blaring alarms. The young teen felt a small hand tug at his pants leg, the small action drawing him away from his place at the window.

"Quinn, why are you crying?"

Quinn wiped his eyes and found them to be wet. Not wanting to scare the girl, he put on a brave face as he knelt down to be eye-level with her.

"No reason. But don't worry, we'll be fine. The nice fire men are coming to get us, ok?" Lorelei nodded, but she didn't seem convinced.

"Oh what _delicious _fear." Said a certain spirit of nightmares; unseen and unheard by the two siblings. He walked over to them and chuckled. "Look how adorable they are when terrified." Pitch glanced out the window to the family below. "And look, the fear has spread to the entire family. How wonderful!" The dark spirit chuckled once more as he leaned close to Quinn's face. "Where's your Jack Frost now? Do you still find joy in his snow when it's going to cause you and your sister to die?" The teenager shivered and looked around in confusion. The Boogeyman laughed once more and took his leave. He couldn't wait to tell the Guardian of Fun how his snow had caused the death of the only teenager who believed in him.

The minutes seemed to drag on for hours to Quinn, his fear growing with each second. He held Lorelei close, whispering comforting words to her. She gasped in fright suddenly. He turned and saw with growing dread that smoke was billowing under the door. He could hear the crackling roar of the fire now as it destroyed his home. He was starting to panic. How in the world was fire spreading so fast?

Lorelei distracted him from his thoughts as she began to cough. He looked around desperately for something to cover their mouths with. He eyed the large quilt on their grandmother's bed. Quinn grabbed it and was about to tear strips from it when he stopped suddenly. He had an idea. It was crazy and dangerous, but it was their last option. He bundled the quilt up as best as he could and threw it out the window.

"Dad! Zane!" He screamed, catching their attention once more. "Grab the quilt! We're going to have to jump!" They understood immediately and, along with several other men from the neighborhood, rushed to pull the quilt tight in a makeshift trampoline. Quinn knelt next to his sister and looked her in the eye.

"You're going to jump first."

"No Quinn! I'm scared of heights!" The terrified girl sobbed.

"Hey! Look at me!" He shook her roughly, cutting off her cries. "Do you remember what your New Year's resolution was?" She nodded. "Well, there's no better time than now to accomplish it. Don't worry. Daddy and Zane and other nice men are down there. They are going to catch you. They will not let you get hurt."

"But, I'm still scared." Lorelei sniffed.

"I know you can do this. Imagine you're flying with Santa on his sleigh or with the Tooth Fairy as she collects the teeth. They're up in high places all the time and they don't get scared. Can you do that?" The little girl's fear slowly melted away as she nodded, determination shining in her eyes.

"We're ready!" Kai called up to his son.

"Alright!" Quinn called back. "You ready?" Lorelei nodded once more. He picked her up and placed her on the window sill. "You have Gabe?" The girl clutched the stuffed lion close as she nodded again. "Ok. Jump on three. One. Two. Three!"

Lorelei jumped out from the burning building. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw how high she was. She felt something in her stomach as she fell. It wasn't fear, no, it was something else. And she liked it. She landed roughly onto the stretched blanket, unharmed and giggling. The men quickly carried her off to her waiting mother, who was sobbing in relief.

Quinn sighed happily. For the first time he felt a sliver of hope. He gazed up at the moon. It was three quarters full and glowed brightly, as if congratulating him for a job well done. He closed his eyes and smiled. He was going to be alright.

The house exploded.

* * *

Jack leaned against the tree he was perched in and sighed contentedly. He loved the clear winter nights of Burgess, the stars twinkling like North's Christmas lights. Sure he had rooms in all of the other Guardians' homes to sleep in, but every now and then he enjoyed staying out under the sky.

The wind tugged at him, but he ignored it, enjoying the scenery. It pushed him harder, trying to grab his attention. The winter spirit sighed in annoyance.

"What?" He snapped.

"And here I thought I had snuck up on you again," said a familiar silky voice. Jack jumped up a turned to face the Nightmare King who was smirking.

"What do you want Pitch?" Jack snarled, aiming his staff at his chest.

"I'm just here to congratulate you on that wonderful snow storm you made over Galion. From what I heard, you gave them a full foot of snow. Quite an achievement if I do say so myself."

"Well no one was asking you." The Guardian of Fun narrowed his eyes. He knew Pitch was playing with him. They both knew a foot of snow was nothing to the winter spirit, so why had Pitch brought it up? An uneasy feeling began to form in his stomach. "Why are you really here?"

"Aren't I allowed to appreciate the handiwork of my fellow spirits?" Pitch had a hurt expression, but it soon turned into a smug smile when Jack just scowled. "No? Well then I suppose I'll just take my leave." Before the winter bringer could react, the Boogeyman melted away into the shadows.

Jack floated there for a moment, confused about what had just happened. A terrible suspicion began to grow through him as he thought about Pitch's words.

"Wind! Take me to Galion!" His old friend obliged, whisking him off into the night at a much faster pace than normal. Jack furrowed his brow as he sped along, trying to ignore the building anxiety in his gut and hoping that this was just another of Pitch's tricks.

* * *

Nicholas St. North sat in his study reviewing the Naughty and Nice lists. It was extremely early in the year, but the Guardian of Wonder always liked to have a head start on everything. The lists themselves weren't actually written down, but stored in North's perfect memory. He knew the name of every person in the world by heart. He knew the children especially well, even the newborn infants once they were named.

Of course, this amazing ability had its downside as well. While he knew every human as soon as they were born, it also meant he knew whenever they passed away. North did not get upset whenever someone who had lived a full life died, but children were another story. He always felt himself become a little sad when a name of child faded from his mind and the normally jolly Russian would always pause in whatever he was doing whenever it occasionally happened.

Tonight was no different. North would review the names in his mind, smiling whenever a newborn was given a name he liked, and pausing for several seconds when a child faded away. This lasted for several hours, the large man stopping only for cookie breaks. He was on one of said breaks when it happened.

He had just picked up a large cookie, double chocolate chip, and raised it half-way to his open mouth. He froze in shock. A name had faded from his mind. But that wasn't the main reason he was shocked. It was a name that had just recently come to his attention. It was the name of a person who believed in the Guardians and other Legends. But that wasn't what startled him either. What shocked him was that the name wasn't of a young child.

Dropping his cookie to floor where several elves began to fight over it, North rushed out of his study. He pushed through the yetis in the workshop, ignoring their concern when they saw his troubled expression. He dashed up to the giant globe, searching desperately for a single light in particular. Unfortunately, it was no longer there.

"Poor Jack…" He sighed, a deep sadness for the younger Guardian washing over him.

As if by cue, snow began to fall inside the workshop. North did not seem as surprised as the yetis and elves, which all began to run around in a panic. Like his northern lights, each Guardian had a way of calling the others in an emergency. The snow, which would be falling in each of the other Guardians' homes as well, was Jack's way of alerting the others.

North held out his hand and let a snowflake land on it. By doing so, he immediately knew where the winter spirit was: The small town Galion, only a few hours away from Burgess.

"Ready the sleigh!" His authoritatively loud voice lacked its normal warmth. As preparations were made, the Guardian sighed heavily. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

North landed the sleigh in a clearing in the woods just outside of town. Leaving Phil to watch it, he made his way through the trees. He wasn't even startled when Bunny popped out of one his tunnels next to him.

"This had better be bloody important." He muttered, his tone irritated but his expression full of concern.

"It is." North stated simply as he continued walking.

"You know what this is about mate?" The Easter Bunny raised an eyebrow questioningly to the large Russian as he fell into step with him. "Pitch isn't back, is he?"

"No. There is no danger that I'm aware of." The Pooka sputtered indignantly at this.

"Then why are we even here?!"

"Jack may not be in trouble, but he still needs us right now." North replied cryptically. Choosing not to respond, Bunny continued on in silence.

They soon came to the tree line where Rose, Tooth, and Sandy were already waiting. Beyond them was a small neighborhood. However, on one of the plots of land closest to the Guardians were the smoldering remains of a home. Smoking debris was strewn around the entire area. The neighboring houses were slightly damaged, but nothing too serious. Police and fire men were still at the scene while the occupants of the neighborhood stood about in shock. Jack Frost stood near the edge of the ruined house, his back turned to the other spirits.

Sandy was the first to notice North and Bunny, making a question make appear above his head as he gestured to the view in front of them.

"Don't ask me." Bunny replied. "North here is the one with all the answers." They turned to the large Guardian expectantly who sighed and shook his head sadly.

"Quinn Wu." The others seemed puzzled at this response.

"Wait." Tooth spoke up. "Isn't that the name of the teenager that believes in Jack?"

"Well, it was his name…" It took several moments before what North said sunk in.

"Crikey." The Aussie whispered as he stared at the smoldering home with wide eyes. "What a way to go."

Sandy made several images that looked like two adults and several children followed by a question mark. Rose knelt down and placed her hand onto the ground, her eyes closed in concentration.

"The rest of his family is safe Sandy." The Earth spirit answered his question.

"What about Jack?" Tooth glanced at her boyfriend, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"He knows we are here." North said while folding his arms. The fairy didn't seem to accept his inaction but remained with the group. She knew as much as they all did that the young spirit needed time alone at the moment.

Jack, vaguely aware of the others' presence, gazed at the ruined house. Many emotions swirled inside him like one of his many snowstorms. There was grief, confusion, helplessness, anger, and guilt. Oh yes, there was a lot of guilt. He had caused the foot of snow that prevented the fire engines from reaching the house on time. True, he hadn't caused the supposed gas leak that led to the home to exploding or the fire itself, but in the state of mind he was in, he might as well have.

He knew that these thoughts were dangerous and untrue, but he couldn't help it. He had never experienced having one of his believers die. Of course, he didn't have any believers until the previous year, but it still stung. To top it all off, it was his snow that impeded the coming help. It was supposed to be a gift to the teen. He wanted to give him a snow day so Quinn (he had learned the boy's name by eavesdropping), could have an extra day to study for an exam he wasn't totally prepared for (also discovered by eavesdropping).

But now he was gone. The only teenager to believe in Jack Frost was now resting with the Man in the Moon. The winter spirit couldn't help but feel slightly responsible for the tragedy, even though he knew he wasn't.

Sighing heavily, he turned and trudged his way back to the others. The young Guardian's vision became blurry as he stopped a few feet away from his new family. He normally tried to avoid crying in front of them as he usually saw it as a sign of weakness, but he couldn't stop the tears that slowly started down his face.

Tooth embraced the winter spirit first as his resistance crumbled and began to sob earnestly. She stroked Jack's white hair silently as he shook in her arms, tears flowing down her own cheeks as she did. Rose was the next to join in, followed by Sandy and Baby Tooth. Bunny clasped the grieving boy's shoulder supportively. North grabbed his hand that held his staff, squeezing it slightly. Jack's sobs grew with each of the Guardian's comforting actions, completely overwhelmed with emotion. No one spoke for the ten minutes he cried himself out. They knew their presence was worth more to him than any words.

With several loud sniffles and coughs, Jack pulled himself together. Leaning on his staff, he looked around at the other spirits.

"Thanks," he croaked his throat raw from crying.

"Any time mate." Bunny said with a small smile.

"Jack." North said, looking the boy in the eye. "You know this is not your fault, yes?" Jack sighed.

"I know. But it sure feels like it."

"There's no way you could've known this would happen." Rose reasoned. "It's not like you caused the fire." The nature spirit shivered at the mention of the plant-consuming beast, but quickly recovered. Jack simply nodded.

"I suppose now would be a bad time to mention that I saw Pitch?" The others tensed at this.

"What?! Where did you see him?!" Bunny demanded, his boomerangs drawn.

"He visited me at my lake." Jack explained, slight bitterness in his voice. "He wanted to 'congratulate' me for the foot of snow here."

"Bloody ingrate." The pooka growled. "Don't pay any attention to him. He's just trying to mess with your head." Jack nodded once again.

Sandy made several images of Rose beating up Pitch and then Pitch attacking the guardians but with an X over it.

"Sandy's right." Tooth translated. "Pitch is probably still too weak from his fight with Rose to try and attack us directly. We shouldn't have to worry about him for now." There were several murmurs of agreement at this before a silence settled over the group.

"Um…" Jack began nervously. "Can we go check on his family?" They all looked to North, whose eyes had softened.

"Of course we can." The big Russian said before turning to Rose with an upturned eyebrow. The self-proclaimed Guardian of Family nodded and knelt to the ground and once more placed her palm against the Earth.

"They're at Burgess General Hospital." She announced after several moments of concentration.

"Bunny, if you could?" North asked. The giant rabbit seemed surprised at first, but then grinned widely.

"Buckle up!" Bunny tapped the ground twice and a large hole opened, swallowing the group. The only thing left to show the spirits' presence there was a small flower that popped up when the tunnel closed.

* * *

The sterile hospital room was filled with a melancholy silence. Kai Wu lay in his bed with several bandages over the minor injuries he had received from the explosion. The rest of the family sat or stood around him, each lost in their misery. Little Lorelei looked around at the sad faces she knew by heart, noticing for the first time that one was missing.

"Mama?" Jane looked down at her youngest child.

"What is it hun?"

"Where's Quinn?" The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. They all looked at each other helplessly. How were they to explain to her that her favorite brother wasn't coming back?

"Come here Rosebud." Leann gestured to her granddaughter. When she was in reach, the elderly woman picked her up and set her on her lap. She began to stroke the young one's hair affectionately as she explained. "Quinn…left."  
"Where did he go?"

"He…he went to go live with Grandpa." There was a choking sound as Jane tried to stifle the oncoming tears.

"Where does Grandpa live?" Lorelei asked with big eyes. She knew that she had a Grandpa, but she had never met him.

"Well…do you really want to know?" The girl nodded her head enthusiastically. Leann searched desperately for something to tell to her grandchild. A cold breeze wafted through the room, causing all the occupants to shiver. This gave her a sudden inspiration. "He lives at the North Pole with Santa." Lorelei gasped.

"Really?!" Her eyes were wide with wonder.

"Uh-huh. He helps Santa around his workshop. Now that Quinn is living with them, he's helping too."

"Does he get to help the Easter Bunny too? And the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman, and Jack Frost?"

"You bet he does Rosebud. But he's going to be very busy now, so he won't be able to come home." The girl immediately became sad.

"But…doesn't he love us anymore?" Jane covered her face in her hands, trying to hide her sobs from Lorelei.

"Of course he loves us. He's just going too busy to visit." Lorelei's eyes began to water.

"So, we won't ever see him again?"

"I'm afraid not Rosebud." Leann gave a sad smile. The tears building up in the small girls eyes slowly started trickling down her face.

"But he didn't even say goodbye!" she cried out. Looking at the stricken faces around her, she continued rambling on. "His stuff is still at the house! Won't he be cold at the North Pole? Can't he visit when Santa brings the presents or when the Easter Bunny brings his eggs? And…and...He promised to help me not be afraid of heights anymore! He promised to help all of us! Why would he leave when he made a promise? Why would he leave?" She dissolved into uncontrollable sobs, burying her face into Leann's shirt.

Tears flowed openly on the faces of everyone in the room as they listened to Lorelei's heartbroken gasps. Especially on the faces of six, unobserved spirits.

* * *

The week that followed was devoid of any happiness, for both the Guardians and the Wu family.

Jack's normally cheerful demeanor had been replaced with stoic silence. No snow fell anywhere in the world, the spirit providing only cold winds and light frost. He didn't even attempt to pull any pranks or tell jokes. His dour mood affected the others as they had become used to his playful antics, casting a gloomy cloud over them all. He assured them that he just needed some time to recover and they respected that, but they couldn't help but miss the fun-loving spirit.

The Wu's fared no better. With their house and all of their possessions gone, they were forced to move in with Mai and David in the house they rented in Burgess. Lorelei, while she had not said anything, began to suspect that Quinn hadn't just left as her Grandmother told her, and became secluded. She ignored everyone and didn't speak, not even to Gabe the lion. Zane began to smoke an entire pack of cigarettes each day, trying his best to dull the pain. Mai simply stared off into space for hours at end, thinking of all the fun times she shared with her brother. Even David couldn't pull her from her stupor.

It was worse for Kai and Jane. The pain of losing one of their children was nearly unbearable. Kai tried to go to work and take his mind off of it, but his supervisors wouldn't hear of it, sending him home with a week off. While he wasn't ungrateful, he wished he had some sort of distraction. Jane busied herself with chores, but soon ran out of messes to clean. She then settled for taking long naps, usually crying herself to sleep.

Leann tried her best to raise their spirits, but to no avail. Her attempts to start a conversation were all met with silence. She eventually stopped, knowing that they each needed to handle the grief themselves, promising herself that she would be there when they needed a shoulder to cry on.

And so the week passed in dreary slog without a single smile or laugh from thirteen grieving hearts.

* * *

The full moon shone down brightly on the remains of the Wu household. It had already been searched by the family for anything that could be salvaged; only lose boards and ashes remaining. Silence permeated throughout the neighborhood, every living creature fast asleep.

The moon slowly brightened and grew until it seemed to fill the entire sky. A breeze blew through the area. The ashes were stirred by the wind, swirling in the air in a small vortex. The vortex spun faster and faster, creating a mini tornado of ash.

The ash began to rearrange itself, forming a figure in the center of the swirling wind. A body was formed, followed by four limbs and a head. The sooty black was replaced by other colors as the figure began to breathe deeply, as if asleep. The wind stopped as the figure was completely formed.

_Awake._ The voice was gentle, yet filled with power and wisdom. The figure felt compelled to obey immediately.

Slowly, Quinn opened his eyes.

* * *

**OH SNAP! That just happened!**

**So to sum it all up: KABOOM, Pitch, Jack angst, hospital feels, life goes on, and then BAM! What just happened?!**

**Anyways, a big thanks to AquaWolfGirl for being my beta! If you haven't read her amazing one-shots and her own OC story, go do it now! Seriously, they're awesome!**

**So what's going to happen next? You'll just have to wait and see~ **

**I'm going to be working on the next chapter of another fic of mine, so it may be another week or two of suffering for you. Muahahaha! **

**Ahem. Please leave some comments, critiques, questions, OC requests, hate mail, spam, trolls, OC requests, letters of endearment, poems, love songs, ancient riddles, OC requests, cryptic messages, essays, novels, sheet music, death threats, and/or OC requests in a review! **

**S****eriously. That button was made for a reason. Review or Pitch will find you. (Dang, I'm on a rhyming roll today.)**


	3. Chapter 3

******I'm sooooooooooooooooooooo sorry this took so long! It's just that I was on a creative streak for my MLP fanfic that I sorta forgot about this one!**

**********I might've been more inspired to work on this if I got more reviews…**

**I'll try my best to get the next chapter out sooner!**

******Me no own Rise of the Guardians. Me do own Quinn Wu and family. You no use without permission!**

* * *

Quinn stared up at the bright, beautiful moon that seemed to fill the entire sky. The light it cast was extremely calming. He took in a deep breath, savoring the fresh air. He frowned as he realized a problem with this.

_Aren't I supposed to be dead?_

While Quinn wasn't ungrateful to be alive, it was extremely puzzling. He could have sworn he had been blown to bits in a house explosion. There was no possible way he could have survived. He raised his hand to scratch his head in confusion, but paused half way at what he saw.

His hand was covered in what appeared to be scales and each of his five fingers ended in an inch-long claw. Quinn blinked. Now that he thought about it, his entire body felt a bit off.

"Well… That's different." Was all he could say as he examined his… paw? "What am I?"

A deep chuckle resounded through the air, startling him. A wind blew through the area, stirring up the ashes he stood in. To his amazement, they began to clump together and solidified. Before long, an ornate mirror had formed a few feet away from him. Taking a deep breath and shutting his eyes, he slowly made his way in front of it, realizing for the first time that he was on all fours. His jaw dropped when he opened his eyes.

Gaping back at him was a dragon.

_A Chinese dragon,_ Quinn quickly recognized.

Bright red scales that shimmered in the moonlight covered his now serpentine body. An orange mane covered the length of his back, ending just before the tip of his tail. Along with the mane were yellow-orange crests that ended in a flaming fan shape on his tail. Two ivory antlers poked out of his head above his large, pointy ears. His snout was filled with sharp fangs that made him look very intimidating with his mouth hanging open. Two long whiskers grew from his snout and were constantly billowing in a non-existent wind. But what interested him the most were his eyes. They were constantly shifting from one color to the next in a kaleidoscope effect.

"This. Is. Awesome!" He was finally able to say after five minutes of staring. He continued to examine his new body in an awed silence. He was about six and half feet long, counting his tail, and three feet tall at his shoulder. He really wasn't that much bigger than when he was human.

Another chuckle caused him to snap out of his state of awe. He glanced around, searching for its source, before gazing up at the moon. A strange feeling came over him as he did.

"Did you do this?" He didn't know why he was asking the moon anything. After all, it was just an inanimate hunk of-

Warmth spread through him, giving an affirmative answer to his question. Quinn swallowed nervously; glad he hadn't been able to finish his previous thought.

"Uh… Not that I'm ungrateful or anything but, why?"

_All shall be revealed. Wait for them._

And with that, the feeling left the young dragon as the moon shrank back to its original size. He stared at it for several minutes before turning back to the mirror. He grinned as he looked as his reflection once again. He might as well become accustomed to his new form while he waited for whoever "them" were.

* * *

"Quinn!" Mai sat up with a gasp, her nightmare waking her from a fitful sleep. She felt her fiancé wake up next to her as she breathed heavily. He pulled her into a comforting embrace as tears flowed down her cheeks. "Oh David!" She sobbed. "I miss him so much!"

"I know, honey. I know," David soothed, unable to do anything more.

"Take me to the house." She begged.

"Mai…"

"Please David! I need to see it!"

"Alright." He said with a sigh. "Let's get dressed then."

* * *

Quinn was practicing standing on his hind legs. He was surprised at how easy it was to walk around upright considering he was supposed to be a four legged creature. He glanced back at the mirror. Yup, he looked just as awesome on two legs as he did on four. He chuckled as he realized that he looked a bit like Mushu from the Disney movie Mulan.

"Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cow!" He imitated while pointing at the empty air.

The sound of a car pulling up pulled him out of his musings. He turned and felt his heart drop as he recognized the vehicle. Falling back down to all fours, he quickly hid behind the neighbor's fence and peeked over it. He watched as his older sister and her fiancé get out of the car and approach the remains of the home. They were silent for a few minutes before Mai began to cry and David pulled her into an embrace.

Quinn felt his ears droop as he listened to the sobs. He was ashamed of himself. Here he was, fawning over his new looks while his family was probably grieving over his death. He would have to fix that.

He crept around the side of the house and then snuck up behind the pair. He sat and waited for them to turn around. He smirked at the thought of their shocked faces. The dragon wished he had a camera.

"Let's go." Mai said after a long while. The couple turned and slowly walked towards the car.

"Hey, I know I don't exactly look like myself," Quinn said in a joking tone when they didn't react at first. "But that's no reason to ignore-"

They walked through him.

He sat there in shock. They had just walked _through_ him. It was as if he didn't even exist. He turned and watched with wide eyes as Mai and David got into their car and drove away. He watched until they were out of sight, and then laid down on the ground, his body curling up in the same way a cat's would.

_What just happened?_

He was confused. He was shocked. He was _frightened_. So he did what any sane teenager would do in his situation.

Quinn began to cry.

* * *

Jack slouched in his chair, barely listening to North's ramblings. He and the other Guardians were gathered for their monthly meeting at Santoff Clausen. The Guardian of Wonder was currently going over a plan on how to gain more believers. The others were paying close attention and giving out suggestions.

The winter spirit sighed quietly and gazed up at the glass ceiling. He was still depressed from the teen's death. He no longer blamed himself, but it still hurt. Jack gazed at the moon, jolting to attention when it started to glow.

"MiM!" He blurted out, catching the other's attention. They all fell quiet as a beam of light fell onto a small crystal globe on the center of the table they were sitting at, causing it to glow.

"What's going on?" Rose asked with curiosity.

"Man in Moon is creating a new legend." North said in awe and reverence.

"What?! But he hasn't made a new legend since frostbite here!" Bunny exclaimed.

Sandy waved little flags in their faces and directed their attention back to the globe. The glow began to fade, leaving a single point of light shining brightly on it.

"Is that where the new legend is?" Tooth wondered.

"Yes." Said North as he examined the globe. "Interesting…"

"What?" Jack asked the Russian.

"That is town of Galion."

"You don't suppose…" Rose trailed off, her train of thought being easily followed by the others.

"Only one way to find out," North said. "Everyone to the sleigh!"

* * *

Quinn didn't notice the sound of the approaching footsteps as he sobbed.

"Well what do we have here?"

The dragon jerked his head up and turned towards the voice. A man with short black hair, pale skin, glowing yellow eyes, and wearing a black robe stood over him. He had a wide grin that made Quinn feel very uncomfortable.

"Y-you can see me?" He asked uncertainly as he stood slowly.

"But of course." The man said with a silky voice. Quinn immediately distrusted him and instinctively took a step back.

"Who are you?"

"How rude of me; my name is Pitch Black." The man's grin grew as he took a step closer. "However, you may know me better as the Boogeyman." Quinn swallowed.

"Did you come alone?"

"Yes."

"I take it you're not here to offer your friendship."

"Very perceptive of you."

"Well crud."

"Indeed."

The young dragon heard a whinnying behind him. His pulse began to race as he turned to see horses made of black sand surrounding him.

"Now hold on a second," Quinn said in reasonable tone as the horses began to advance on him. "What did I ever do to you?"

"You've done nothing yet." Pitch said as he moved in on him. "I intend to keep it that way."

"Oh is that all? Then I promise to never bother you. Dragon's honor!" Quinn stood on his hind legs to try and give himself more space.

"I'm afraid it's not your choice. Now just come quietly and you won't come to any harm."

"Sorry, but the Moon told me-"

"I don't care what that old fool said!" The Nightmare King snarled. "Seize him!"

One of the sand horses rushed forward. Quinn lifted his paws to cover his face and closed his eyes. A whistling rang out followed by a pop and fizzle. The young dragon peeked out between to see a pile of harmless sand where the horse had been standing. Pitch and the other horses were staring at the same spot as well.

"What are you waiting for?" Pitch said finally. "Get him!"

Thinking quickly, Quinn formed a gun with his paw and aimed it at the nearest horse. He 'pulled the trigger'. A firecracker shot from the tip of his claw, exploding in in bright green sparks when it hit, causing the horse to disintegrate. With a grin, he began shooting any of the horses that tried to come near him, causing the air to be filled with whistling, whinnies, pops, fizzles, and colorful explosions.

While he was distracted with the horses, Quinn failed to notice Pitch sneaking up on him. In one swift motion, he kicked his hind legs out from under him and slammed him to the ground. Pinning the winded dragon's arms down, Pitch smirked in triumph.

"I told you to come quietly"

"Go jump in front of a train!" Quinn spat as he struggled against the surprisingly strong grip.

"Oh I'm going to have fun with you." The dark spirit practically purred. Quinn stopped for a second and stared in disgust at his captor.

"Sick perv!"

"What?! How _dare_ you assume-" He was cut off as he was suddenly blasted into the air. In his anger, Pitch has loosened his grip, allowing the dragon to break free and release some pent up energy that he had felt building up in his fists.

Quinn watched as he was carried high into the sky before the firework exploded with a loud boom and a shower of red sparks. He lay down and panted heavily, still winded from Pitch's attack.

*THUD*

He looked over to see the unconscious form of the dark spirit laying several feet away from him. For some reason, he found this hilarious and began to laugh. After about ten minutes of laughter, he stood up and approached Pitch's still form.

"Hey! Wake up!" He shouted, poking him in the face. The Nightmare King groaned and his eyes fluttered open. He froze when he noticed the dragon standing over him. "Listen up because I'm only going to say this once. I was being honest when I told you I wouldn't get in your way of whatever you do. So how about we make a deal? I won't mess with you if you don't mess with me. Alright?"

"You _dare_ give make demands of me?!"

"Yeah, yeah, I _dare_. If you want another ride on a firework, I'll be more than happy to oblige."

"… _Fine_." Pitch spat.

"Good. Now leave me alone." Quinn walked away, not looking back as the dark spirit faded into the shadows. He sighed; he was both physically and emotionally exhausted. Curling up into a comfortable position on a particularly soft pile of ashes, he soon fell asleep.

* * *

The six Guardians trudged through the forest towards town. They chatted amongst themselves, speculating what the new legend would be like.

"I wonder what they're going to be in charge of." Tooth was saying. "I mean, all the holidays already have their own spirit and so does most of the old folklore."

"Maybe they're a nature spirit." Rose suggested. "I wouldn't mind another worker."

"Not all the nature spirits work for you." Jack pointed out.

"Perhaps Manny is making all new holiday." North speculated.

Sandy drew a picture of a zipper being closed and then someone walking briskly.

"Sandy's right mates." Bunny chuckled. "We won't find out if we keep flapping our gums and don't get a move on."

Taking the Guardian of Dreams' advice, they picked up their pace and continued in silence. They soon neared the tree line. Bunny suddenly froze and crouched into a defensive position. The others immediately stopped.

"What's wrong Bunny?" North said as he scanned the trees around them for any sign of danger.

"I smell somethin'." The pooka answered while pulling out his boomerangs.

"What is it?" Tooth asked, flitting back and forth.

"Dunno. But it ain't good."

"Let me try." Rose said. She began to glow as she shape shifted into her pooka form. She had tan fur with a white chest and stomach. She was also several inches shorter than Bunny. She took a sniff of the air. "Dragon!" She hissed. The others tensed.

"A dragon? But I thought they were all extinct!" Tooth exclaimed, more nervous than ever.

"What's so bad about a dragon?" Jack asked.

"You know stories where they would steal princess and eat entire village?" North asked. The winter spirit nodded. "They weren't exactly exaggerated."

"What kind are we dealing with?" Bunny asked Rose. She took another sniff.

"I can't tell. There were some Nightmares in the area as well and they're blocking out most of the sent."

"Great. Now Pitch is involved." Jack groaned.

"Hang on." Rose sniffed once more. "I can tell you a couple of things. First, it's very young."

"How young?"

"It's in its teens."

"That is young." North said in surprise.

"What else?" Jack inquired.

"It's male, and it's frightened."

"You can tell all that but can't tell us its bloody species?!" Bunny complained.

"I don't see you doing any better, _darling_." Rose shot back.

"I hope the new legend is alright." Tooth said, trying to diffuse a potential argument. They all froze as what she said sunk in.

"I think we just found the new legend Tooth." Bunny said.

"And it seems Pitch found him first." North growled.

Sandy reacted first, zooming past them with his sand whips forming in his hands. Tooth and Jack flew close behind him. Bunny and Rose followed on all fours, leaving the large Russian to run after them. They burst through the trees, halting their rush at what awaited them.

A red dragon was curled up amongst the remains of the Wu home, sleeping fitfully. Piles of black sand surrounded it. It was shivering violently in the cold January air; its orange mane doing very little to keep it warm. It shifted slightly and began to mumble in a frightened tone.

"No… Get away…"

The Guardians approached the slumbering creature slowly, not wanting to startle it.

"No… You can't have it…" It continued to ramble.

"What do we do now?" Jack whispered.

"We should probably wake it up." North whispered back.

"It's my bread… Stop it…"

Tooth hovered lower to the ground gently shook the dragon's shoulder.

"Hey. It's time to wake up." She called out softly.

"Give it back… No…"

"Wake up." The Guardian of Memories tried again.

"No… Evil…"

"Wake up!" The fairy said sternly.

"GIVE ME BACK MY BREAD YOU STUPID DUCKS!" The dragon shouted as he leapt to his feet. He panted heavily for a few seconds before he noticed the six spirits staring at him. His cheeks became a darker shade of red as he blushed in embarrassment. "Uh… Can you pretend you didn't hear that?"

Bunny burst into laughter, causing the dragon's face to become even darker.

"You were having a nightmare about _ducks_?!" He gasped about between fits of merriment.

"I don't see why that's so funny." Jack said coolly. "They're viscous beasts. Never trust a duck."

"Exactly." The dragon agreed as he nodded his head sagely. "Now, who are you all?"

"You haven't guessed by now?" North raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Well, no, why would…" He trailed off as something clicked in his mind. He was surrounded by a large man in a red coat and white beard, two huge rabbits, a human-sized fairy, a little man seemingly made of sand, and a teenager that seemed vaguely familiar with a frosted hoody. "No way… Santa?!" He looked at the other magical beings around him. "The Easter Bunny?! Tooth Fairy?! Sandman?! Jack Frost?!" He paused at Rose. "Uh…"

"Mother Nature, but you can call me Rose."

"Now that you know who we are, who are you?" The big Russian asked.

"Quinn Wu." The dragon said, still entranced by the fact he was in the presence of some the most famous fairy tale characters in history. There was a collective gasp. "What's wrong?" He noticed the others staring at Jack, who was clutching his shepherd's staff like a life line.

"What," The winter spirit swallowed before continuing. "What do you remember?"

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked with a puzzled expression.

"What do remember before waking up as you are now?" Tooth elaborated.

"Oh! Well, my house was on fire and my sister and I were trapped upstairs. We used our grandmother's old quilt to make a makeshift trampoline so we could jump to safety. I made her go first. Once she was safe, there was an ear splitting explosion and a horrible searing heat for a couple of seconds. Then everything went black before I woke up here."

"You seem surprisingly nonchalant over your own violent death." Rose pointed out. The young dragon simply shrugged.

"How come you were forced to jump out the window?" Jack barely whispered, causing a hush to come over the others.

"Well, the fire was spreading at an unnatural rate so we had no other choice. The fire department couldn't get there in time because there was a foot of snow… Oh." His eyes widened and he turned to face the winter spirit, who had an extremely guilty expression. It took him all of two seconds to understand why. "Aw man, I totally don't blame you for this!"

"You don't?" Jack asked in surprise, making an expression that, in Quinn's opinion, was akin to that of a wounded puppy.

"Of course I don't! It's not like you started the fire! Now turn off the sad eyes before I get diabetes." The Guardian of Fun wiped his eyes and grinned in response.

"So what did the Moon tell you?" Bunny asked.

"Well," Quinn began, but faltered when a cold breeze wafted over them, causing him to shiver. "Uh, could we continue this someplace where it's warmer? Reptiles aren't very big on cold weather."

"At least you are accustomed to new body." North said with a jolly laugh. "Come! We take sleigh back to Pole!"

"Pole? As in, the North Pole? As in, your workshop?" The young dragon's eyes were filled with excited wonder.

"But of course!"

"Then what are we standing around here for?! To the sleigh!" He rushed off in the direction of the woods.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Jack called out, causing Quinn to pause and turn to them.

"Nope." He said cheerfully, giving a toothy grin. There was a high-pitched squeal and before he could blink the hummingbird-human hybrid was in front of him prying his jaws open.

"Oh my goodness! Look at these teeth! They're so white! And look at how sharp they are! They're the healthiest dragon teeth I've ever seen!" The Guardian of Memories gushed as she examined his mouth.

"Well, I did just get reborn," Was what Quinn tried to say. But it came out as, "El, Ai ib sus uh ebon."

"Tooth! Fingers out of mouth!" North scolded.

"Oh! Sorry!" She said, removing her hands from the young dragon's maw.

"It's alright. Just warn me next time before mouth molesting me." Jack snickered at this.

"Come! We go to sleigh now, yes?" The big Russian said, leading the way into the forest.

"So…" Quinn began as they all followed North. "You all have names besides the ones humans know you as?"

"Course we do! Name's E. Aster Bunnymund. But call me Bunny."

"Toothiana. Tooth for short."

"And this is Sanderson Mansnoozie." Jack said for the small man. "He prefers it if you just call him Sandy."

"What about you Santa?" Quinn asked.

"Nicholas St. North. I am fine with whatever you wish to call me." The jolly Guardian replied.

"Ok. So we have Jack, Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, Rose, and Nick." The young dragon listed off. "Got it."

"We're here!" North said as they stepped into the clearing where the sleigh was parked. The seven spirits piled onto it. Quinn's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Buckle up!" The Guardian of Wonder shouted as he took the reins.

"Where are the seatbelts?" The young dragon asked while looking down at the benches they were sitting on.

"Ha!" The large man turned to them, a twinkle in his eye. "That was just expression!"

* * *

One exhilarating sleigh ride later, during which both Quinn and Jack teased Bunny out of revenge for his mockery of their fear of ducks, the group strolled into North's expansive workshop. Quinn's eyes darted back and forth as he tried to soak up every little detail.

Yetis were absolutely everywhere, making all kinds of toys and carrying supplies around. Amazing little machines whizzed through the air, one narrowly missing the dragon's head. The entire shop smelled of eggnog, cookies, and chocolate. Ugly little elves ran about everywhere, causing mischief wherever they went.

"I thought the elves made the toys." He mused out loud.

"We just let them think that." The Guardian of Wonder explained. They came upon a group of elves who had wrapped a string of Christmas lights around one of their own. One plugged them in, causing both the lights and the elf to light up. "Good job!" North complimented with false sincerity.

The group came to a living room type of area, where several couches and chairs were positioned around a fireplace. They each made themselves comfortable as a yeti served mugs of hot chocolate.

"Now, before we begin, do you have any questions?" North said as he sipped his warm beverage.

"Well, I do now that you mention it."

"Fire away." Bunny encouraged him.

"Well, for starters, are the other spirits real as well? Like Cupid and Father Time?"

"Naturally." North said.

"Ok, then how come you six were the ones the Moon sent to find me?"

"It is because we are Guardians."

"Guardians?"

"We protect the children of the world. We inspire hope, keep precious memories alive, weave dreams, give the gift of wonder, instill the importance of family, and spread fun. We guard them from fear and despair. We will fight to our final breaths even if only a single child believed in us, because to us, that single child would be worth dying for if it meant keeping them safe. And because you believe in us, it is our duty to protect you as well."

"But… But I'm not a child." Quinn stuttered, in awe of the Russian's passionate explanation. _Forget the Avengers! These guys are WAY cooler!_

"Does not matter. You believed in us even before becoming spirit, therefore, we are responsible for your safety."

"Wow…" To say that the new spirit was stunned would have been an understatement. He was completely floored.

"Anything else you wanted to ask?" Tooth said.

"I'm curious as to why I haven't freaked out yet. Most teens my age would've had a complete breakdown by now."

"It is your new body," Explained Rose, who had returned to her human form. "Dragons are able to withstand mental stress with much more ease than humans." She paused. "That's also probably why you weren't very concerned over the thought of your death earlier."

"Cool." He simply said.

"What else?" North asked.

"Hmmm… Wait! Am I immortal now?"

"You are as long as nothing kills ya." Bunny answered. "So don't push your luck."

"Is that all you wanted to know?" North said patiently.

"Well, no… Something happened before you showed up that I want explained…" The dragon's ears drooped. "While I was waiting around, my sister and her fiancé showed up. She… She was upset. So I tried to go and comfort her. But… But she walked _through_ me. It was like I didn't even exist…"

Tooth flitted over and embraced Quinn in a comforting hug which he gladly accepted.

"You are new legend." North began with a sad sigh. "No one believes in you yet, so they cannot see, hear, or touch you. Not even your family."

"How long will it take for people to start believing in me?" He was met with silence at this. "Well?"

"A long, long time." Jack finally said, sending a pang of guilt through the other Guardians.

"Not necessarily." Rose said. "We'll be here for him this time."

"This time? What happened last time?"

"That is topic for different time," North quickly asserted. "Now, is that everything?"

"Yeah…" The dragon yawned loudly, suddenly becoming very drowsy. "Uh, do you mind if we pick this up tomorrow? This is a lot to take in for one day, even with being able to handle more stress than normal."

"Certainly. Phil!" The yeti came quickly to the call. "Take Quinn to guest room for tonight."

"Goodnight." Quinn said with another yawn as he followed Phil out of the room. The Guardians were silent after he left.

"We're going to help him." Jack stated, glaring at the others as if daring them to protest.

"Of course we are!" North agreed. "We will not make same mistake twice. Once he wakes up and tells us what Manny said, we will do everything in our power to prepare him for new life."

"Hold on there, mate." Bunny interrupted. "While I'm all for helping the kid, we do have jobs to do. How are we supposed to help if we're busy all the time?"

Sandy taped the side of his mug to get their attention. He proceeded to make images above his head. He made a four-leaf clover, an hourglass, a heart, and several other symbols.

"We should get some help from the other spirits?" Tooth guessed. The small Guardian nodded.

"Then it is decided!" The large Russian exclaimed. "Tomorrow we hear Manny's message and then get help from other legends to teach our young dragon friend!"

* * *

Quinn was curled up on the bed that had been provided for him, his thoughts racing. In the past twelve hours, he had been brought back from the dead as a dragon, been attacked by the Boogeyman, discovered he practically didn't exist to the world, met some of the greatest fictional characters in history, and had visited the North Pole.

_I hope tomorrow isn't as stressful. _

With a sigh, the young dragon closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

******Yay! We finally get to the plot!**

**So what did you think? I bet you weren't expecting Quinn to look as he does.**

******Also! Go check out all the amazing RotG oneshots by my beta AquaWolfGirl! You may even figure out the "Never Trust a Duck" thing! ; )**

**********Please send me some OC's if you want them to cameo in the story! And don't forget to review! It fills my heart with rainbows every time you do!**

**Until next time!**

******-Ink**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay! It took me awhile to get this written because… well, because I was being lazy. DX **

**Plus my amazing Beta, AquaWolfGirl, got bogged down with personal stuff. It is with sadness that I inform you that she is no longer going to beta this fic. : ( But that doesn't mean you can't go check out her amazing RotG one-shots! **

**If anyone is willing to become my new beta, please let me know in a PM.**

**Also, I'm thinking of adding titles to each chapter. Do you have any suggestions for previous chapters?**

**Anyways, here's chapter 4! Please read and review!**

**RotG = Dreamworks**

**Quinn/Wu Family = Me**

**Rose = MagentaCarther**

* * *

The first thing he became aware of was a squeaking in his ear. He tried to ignore it at first, but it refused to leave him alone, growing louder and more insistent.

"Five more minutes…" He mumbled.

Something began to tug at his mane, causing him to grow irritated.

_Wait… Mane?!_

Quinn's eyes snapped open as everything that had occurred to him the previous day came rushing back to him. Waking up as a dragon. Fighting Pitch. Arriving at the North Pole. He snapped his head up, dislodging whatever was grabbing his head fur as he quickly took stock of his surroundings. He was in the small guest room that Phil the yeti had led him to the previous evening. Remembering that something had woken him, the young dragon looked around.

"Hello?" He called out. Angry, muffled squeaks answered from behind him. He turned to find a small hummingbird-like creature with its beak stuck in the wall. "Oh my gosh! Let me help you!" He grabbed the small fairy and gently pulled it free. It wriggled out of his grasp and began squeaking at him in a fast and scolding tone. "Sorry about that." He apologized once he realized he had caused the incident. The creature just huffed and turned its back to him, obviously still upset. There was a knock at the door.

"Baby Tooth?" Jack's voice called. "Did you wake him up?" The fairy immediately brightened and began squeaking excitedly. "I'll take that as a yes." The winter spirit said as he strolled into the room. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Quinn replied with a yawn. Baby Tooth squealed with delight and flew up to the pale teen and began snuggling against his face. The dragon raised an eyebrow at this. "Looks like someone has a fan." Baby Tooth quickly flew up to his face and began scolding him again.

"And it looks like someone made and enemy." Jack chuckled.

"It was an accident, I swear!" Quinn defended. The fairy just rolled her eyes and flew back to Jack, perching on his shoulder.

"Come on, breakfast's ready." The Guardian of Fun gestured for the younger spirit to follow him. Quinn hopped of the bed and stretched before following Jack out of the room. He was led to a room with a long rectangular table where the other Guardians were eating. Quinn's mouth began to water as he gazed at all the food piled on the table.

Every breakfast dish imaginable was there. Eggs that were fried, scrambled, and hardboiled sat alongside a huge platter of bacon. French toast, pancakes, and three different flavors of waffles towered over the steaming pots of porridge, oatmeal, and grits. The rich smell of spiced sausages and hashed browns mingled with the sweetness of maple syrup and numerous types of jam. Pitchers of orange juice, apple juice, and milk dotted the table along with bowls of fresh fruit. On a smaller table to the side of the room were boxes of every type of cereal from Lucky Charms to Fruity Pebbles and everything in between.

"It's… It's beautiful." Quinn said after staring at it for a minute.

"Well don't just stand there! Dig in!" Bunny called when he noticed the awestruck dragon. Not needing a second bidding, the new spirit rushed to an empty chair and began to pile food onto his plate, taking a little of everything. While he ate, he noticed several fairies similar to Baby Tooth hovering around Toothiana who would spout off a random address to them, causing one to fly off.

"Are those Tooth's helpers?" He asked Jack, who was sitting next to him.

"Hmmm…" The winter spirit quickly swallowed his mouthful of cereal. "Yeah, they are. She can't be everywhere at once you know." Satisfied with this answer, Quinn went back to attacking his meal.

Sooner than he liked, the meal was finished and several yetis began to clear the table. They all sat in comfortable silence as they did, allowing the food in their stomachs to settle. Once everything had been cleared away, North clapped his hands together to grab their attention.

"Right! On to business." He turned to Quinn. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." The young dragon replied. "The bed was a little too soft though…"

"I will find something firmer for you then. Now, we have something we want to tell you." Quinn's ears perked up at this.

"Last time Man in Moon made a legend was a long time ago. We are not proud to admit it, but we as Guardians ignored him for the most part. What we did not know that he had lost all his memories of being human. So, for three hundred years, he was alone, without anyone to help him understand his new powers and responsibilities." North paused and took a deep breath.

"We do not want to make same mistake twice. So we will do everything in our power to help you adjust to new life."

"Wow… Uh… Thanks." Was all Quinn could say, stunned once again that such famous spirits would go out of their way to help him.

"No problem mate." Bunny said. "But if we're to help ya, we need to know what Manny told ya."

"All he said was 'All shall be revealed. Wait for them.' I assume the 'them' were you guys."

"That's it?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"That's it."

"Very strange…" North said after a moment of silence, stroking his beard.

"What is?" Quinn asked.

"Usually when Manny makes new legend, he gives them a title that reflects their purpose such as Easter Bunny or Mother Nature. Without knowing what you are spirit of, we cannot properly teach you."

"Maybe he wants me to figure it out for myself?" The young dragon guessed.

"Hmm… maybe…" The all sat quietly, thinking of ways to figure out Quinn's purpose.

"I've got it!" Bunny said suddenly. "I know how we can figure out what he's the spirit of!"

"How?" Rose asked with a slightly skeptical look.

"Do ya still have that sparring hall North?" The pooka asked the big Russian.

"Of course. Why?"

"Follow me." Bunny stood and walked out of the room. The others quickly rose from their own seats and followed him. He led them to a large, rectangular room. In the center of the room was a mat that covered most of the wooden floor. Weapons of all kinds hung on the walls. Several benches lined the walls as well and some practice dummies were standing in a corner.

"Why are we here?" Quinn asked, somewhat confused.

"Because places like this are the best for meditation." Bunny answered.

"Meditation? That's how we're going to figure what Quinn's the spirit of?" Jack said, sounding just as confused.

"Sort of. Now come on, let's make a circle." Bunny strolled over to the center of the room and then sat cross-legged on the floor. The other six spirits sat as well, making a small circle. "What do ya know about auras?"

"Aren't they some sort of spiritual energy that's unique to each person?" Quinn answered.

"That pretty much sums it up. However, for us spirits, an aura also reveals their purpose and their center."

"Center?"

"Every spirit has a center." Tooth explained. "It makes them who they are and gives them their powers."

"They also have to figure out their center on their own." Rose added.

"Anyways," Bunny continued. "I learned a little trick some years back that allows me to see my own aura as well as others'. By meditating a certain way, we'll be able to see Quinn's."

"Then we'll be able to figure out what his purpose is!" Jack said, catching on.

"Exactly! Everyone close your eyes. Now, take a deep breath and relax. Let your thoughts fade away, but make sure you're still aware of those around you. Keep breathing."

Quinn followed the pooka's instructions, letting his thoughts disappear, but remaining aware of the other spirits who sat around him. He could feel the cold emanating from Jack who sat next to him and the strange warmth from Sandy who sat on his other side. He could hear North's deep breaths and the flittering of Tooth's wings as she tried her best to keep them still. He could smell the muskiness of Bunny's fur and the Earthy sent coming from Rose.

Bunny's voice faded away as he focused on the others around him only. Six brilliant lights bloomed up out the darkness that was his mind.

The first one was to his left. It was a cold white-blue and crackled with abundant energy. As he looked at it, he saw blizzards and fun snowball fights in his mind's eye. At the center of the light was a snowflake that spun slowly.

The second light was a dazzling purple. It seemed restless and pulsed at random intervals. He saw an ornate palace with fairies flying in every direction as they stored small boxes in the walls. A tooth rested at its center.

Third was a shimmering bright green. It radiated calm and seemed gentle yet fierce at the same time. He saw children running about a park with baskets in their hands. A beautifully painted Easter egg was its center.

A darker, softer green was next. It was almost exactly like the bright green: radiating calm while being gentle and fierce simultaneously. However, there was a feeling nurturing as well. He saw the coming of spring and all kinds of animals. A tree with many branches and roots lay at its center.

Next was a deep, vast red. It twinkled in a jolly way and he saw children squealing in delight as they opened presents when he looked at it. Its center was a snow globe.

Finally, on his right was a shining golden yellow. It was silent, yet infinitely wise. This one produced images of children sleeping peacefully. A comfortable looking pillow was at its center.

_Good. You're doing great, _Bunny's voice emanated out of the bright green light. _Now, to see your own aura, imagine yourself walking forward a few steps, and then turn around._

Quinn did as instructed. Stepping forward a few paces, he turned to see a seventh light.

It was a glowing sunset orange. It flickered like a campfire; in control, yet slightly feral. While there was nothing at its center, it still gave him images of fireworks and thousands of people counting down to midnight.

As he realized the significance of this, an immense, blindingly bright silver light filled his view. He gasped and opened his eyes, breaking his own trance as well as the others.

"Wǒ zhīdào wǒ shì shuí! Wǒ zhīdào wǒ shì shuí!" The young dragon spouted quickly. "Wǒ de jīngshén, zài xīn de yī nián! Xīnnián de lóng! Wǒ zài xīnnián de yānhuā xiǎnshì de fùzé!"

"Zhēn de ma? Zhè shì jīngrén de!" Tooth gushed just as swiftly. "Wǒmen zhōngyú yǒule yīgè xīnnián de jīngshén!"

"Dànshì, shì bùshì xīnnián de yīng'ér shì xīnnián de jīngshén ma?" Quinn seemed confused.

"Hǎole tā. Dàn tā-"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Jack cut her off. "Restart. This time, speak slowly and in English."

"We weren't speaking English?" The fairy and dragon said at the same time. Bunnymund slapped a paw to his face and shook his head.

"No, you weren't. You were speaking… foreign." The winter spirit explained.

"Nǐ shuō zhège?" Tooth said slowly. The others nodded.

"Wait, that's Chinese. I don't know how to speak Chinese." Quinn furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Apparently you do mate." Bunny said. "Try it out."

"Qù yuèdú wǒ de xīn de fēngshàn xiǎoshuō, bàba de wèntí." He said slowly, his eyes lighting up in pleasant surprise.

"Ok, we've established that you can speak Chinese." Rose said. "Now tell us what you and Tooth were going on about."

"Perhaps we can do so in someplace more comfortable." North said, grunting as he heaved himself off the ground. They followed the large Russian back to the fireplace room and made themselves comfortable. Jack and Tooth lounged on a couch with Sandy perched on its armrest and Quinn sprawled out on the floor in front of it. Bunny and Rose sat together on some cushions near the fire and North reclined in a large red chair. "Alright, now what were you saying?"

"Well, when we were doing the whole aura thing, I suddenly realized what I'm the spirit of." Quinn began. "I was looking into what my aura was showing me when there was bright flash of silver light. All of a sudden, I knew my purpose, title, and new name." He paused.

"Well don't keep us in suspense. Tell us!" Jack exclaimed. Sandy nodded in agreement. The young dragon took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"I am Xīnnián (**A/N: Pronounced Shin-nyan**), the New Year's Dragon. It is my responsibility to make sure the firework displays around the world go off precisely at midnight." He opened his eyes his eyes to see the other spirits, minus Tooth, staring at him strangely.

"Are ya sure?" Bunny said calmly. "Are ya certain you didn't misunderstand somthin'?" The young spirit bristled at this; his mane stood on end and his whiskers began to wave violently. His pupils shrank to slits and a low, feral growl escaped his throat. The sudden shift in moods was instantaneous and frightening for the Guardians to watch.

"I _saw _it in my own _essence_." He snarled. "And that silver light, which, I'm guessing, was the _Man in the Moon_, gave me that name and title. So yeah, I'm _certain_." Tooth quickly reached down and began to scratch behind the dragon's right ear. All signs of hostility melted away into an expression on pure bliss. "Oooh! A little to the left… Oh! Yeah! Right there!" He closed his eyes as he enjoyed the sensation and the low growl was replaced by a gentle purr. The Guardian of Memories began to scratch the left side of his snout as well, causing his sounds of delight to increase. She reached under and scratched where his jaw met his neck, and, suddenly, he went completely limp, gentle snores emanating from him.

"I guess you found his off switch." Jack said jokingly. The young dragon groaned after a minute and opened his eyes.

"What happened?" He said breathlessly. Sandy flashed several images above his head in quick succession. "Uh… What?"

"The kangaroo said something. You got mad at him. Then Tooth scratched your jaw and you passed out for a few seconds." The winter spirit summarized.

"Oh. Right. Why did I get so angry?"

"He said something considered to be the highest form of offense to a spirit." Rose explained, casting her boyfriend an irritated glare. "He questioned your reason for existing. Add in your natural pride as a dragon, and you get one mean temper."

"Sorry 'bout that…" The pooka mumbled as his ears drooped.

"It's fine. Just tell me why it's so surprising that I'm the spirit of the New Year? Does it have something to do with the New Year's Baby or something?"

"You could say that." North began. "You see, long time ago, Newsie as we knew him was content with being the spirit of the New Year."

"He certainly knew how to throw one heck of a party." Bunny added.

"However, he had no real responsibilities besides being its symbol." The Guardian of Wonder continued. "He grew envious of all other spirits who had amazing powers that went along with their titles. Eventually, he renounced his title and immortality, choosing to live out the rest of his life as normal human. Father Time then took over his responsibilities and has been the patron of the New Year ever since."

"You know," Tooth mused. "Now that you mention it, I don't recall MiM ever officially appointing him to the job."

"So what you're saying is that you're all surprised that the Man in the Moon would wait such a long time to appoint a spirit to New Year's since Father Time has been taking care of it?" The dragon guessed. Sandy nodded.

"None of that matters now." The large Russian said. "What matters now is that we must help you prepare for New Year. We only have eleven months left, so we must get busy."

"So Quinn," Rose paused. "Or is it Xīnnián now? What do you want us to call you?" The spirit of the New Year thought for a minute before letting out a heavy sigh.

"I guess I'm not Quinn Wu anymore, am I? At least, I don't _feel_ like Quinn anymore." He nodded to himself, as if to reconfirm it to himself. "I'm Xīnnián now. Call me Xīn for short."

"Are you sure?" Tooth said nervously. "You'll be giving up your identity that you've had for most of your life." Xīn shook his head at this.

"No I won't. I'm simply adjusting it to fit this new life. While I'm not Quinn anymore, a part of him will always exist within me. Think of it like evolution. An animal can adapt to be better at survival and eventually become an entirely different species. However, it still retains traits from the creature it evolved from." The dragon paused for a second. "Wow. That was surprisingly profound. This just proves me right. Quinn would have never thought of that."

"What about your family?" Mother Nature asked. Xīnnián's ears fell.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Can we move on please? This is starting to give me a headache."

"Oh yeah!" Jack blurted out. "I just remembered that we were going to ask you something!" Sandy gestured for him to continue. "Well, when we first found you, there were piles of black sand everywhere. What happened there?"

"Well, I was lying there, depressed over being invisible, when this creepy man in a black dress shows up. You probably know him as Pitch Black. Anyways, he surrounds me with these evil ponies of doom made of black sand. I asked him what I ever did to him and he says that he's making sure that that I don't do anything to him. Then one of the ponies attacked. I put my arms up to defend myself, and then a firecracker shot out and caused it to disintegrate."

"A firecracker?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah! Check it out!" The young dragon raised his left paw and shot a firecracker up towards the high-vaulted ceiling. It whistled loudly before exploding into a shower of bright blue sparks.

"Warn a mate before doin' that again." Bunny said as he pawed at his sensitive ears.

"Sorry. Anyways, I began to fend off the evil ponies-"

"Nightmares." Rose supplied.

"Right, those. Anyways, I began to fend them off with my firecrackers when Pitch snuck up on me and forced me to the ground. I managed to catch him off guard by calling him a pervert and blasted him off me with a full-sized firework. After laughing at how funny it was when he hit the ground unconscious, I told him that if left me alone that I would leave him alone. He agreed and left. Then I fell asleep. You all were there for the rest."

"Why would Pitch think you were a threat to him?" Tooth mused. "You're not a Guardian."

"Maybe he was jealous of my newly obtained good looks."

"Oh yeah, Quinn is definitely still there." Jack chuckled.

"How would ya know that?" Bunny said.

"I may or may not have eavesdropped on his conversations when he was human to get to know his personality."

"Stalker." Xīn fake-scowled at the winter spirit who simply smirked back.

"Pitch is not important at moment." North said, refocusing their attention. "What is important is finding teachers for Xīn."

"Wait, what?" The young dragon tilted his head to the side. "Aren't you all going to help me?"

"We would love to, but we have our own jobs to do." Tooth explained. "Me, Sandy, Jack and Rose are needed at all times of the day. Bunny has to prepare for Easter in two months and North has to stay busy all year if he wants to get enough toys made for Christmas."

"Actually, I'm not as busy as the rest of you." Mother Nature spoke up. "I could probably help him with his powers."

"What do you know about fireworks?" Jack inquired.

"No, I didn't mean his spirit powers. I meant his dragon powers. I know everything about every living creature, and dragons aren't the exception."

"Ok, but what else do I need to learn exactly?" The New Year's spirit asked.

"Hmm…" North stroked his beard as he thought. "Several things; your new responsibilities and how to prepare the New Year, how to bring out your full powers with fireworks as well as magic, history of the world with the spirits' involvement, Chinese history in particular, and it would probably be best if you learned how defend yourself properly."

"Alright, so who's going to teach me all that?"

"We'll figure something out." The large Russian said. "Now that we have that under control, let's talk of other things." Sandy made a question mark over his head. "What other things? Why the party of course!"

"Party? What party?" Jack asked.

"The party to introduce young dragon friend to other spirits! I say we make it tradition whenever Manny makes new spirit from now on!" The Guardian of Wonder seemed extremely pleased with himself for coming up with the idea.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Tooth exclaimed. "He'll be able to meet everyone and make some actual friends!"

"What does that make us?" The winter spirit teased.

"My Guardians." The dragon answered seriously.

"Awww!" Tooth leaned down and hugged him affectionately, causing him to purr once more. Jack scowled at this.

"It will be in three days!" North decided. "That's plenty of time for you to get settled in here."

"Actually Nick, I appreciate the offer, but I don't think I can stay here." Xīn said.

"Why not?" The Guardian of Wonder seemed surprised.

"Well, even with the heating inside, it's still too cold for me here. I've been feeling kind of sluggish ever since I woke up. I hope you aren't upset."

"Not at all. We'll just have to find you someplace warmer to stay."

"Well," Bunny began. "I do have an empty cave back at the Warren that I've been meaning to fix up. He could stay there."

"What's the Warren?" The young dragon asked with a curious expression.

"I'll show ya." The Easter Bunny said while standing. "You don't mind, do ya North?"

"No, go right ahead. We will stay and figure out who will be best to teach Xīn." Sandy made images of scissors, paper, and card. "Oh yes, and making invitations for party."

"Alright, but I want a say so in who his combat teacher is. Come on then." Bunny ushered Xīn to the other side of the room. "Ya ready?"

"Ready for what?" The pooka grinned mischievously before tapping the ground twice with his paw. A huge tunnel opened up beneath the pair. "Yī zhī tùzǐ de érzi!" Xīn managed to swear before they fell in.

They slid through a massive tunnel system, Bunny whooping the entire way. Xīn eventually joined in, enjoying the wild ride. The dragon tumbled onto some grass while Bunny landed on his feet gracefully as they reached their destination.

"Welcome to the Warren." Bunny said as Xīn picked himself up off the ground. He gaped at the eternal spring he found himself in. Fields of grass and flowers spread out around him inside what appeared to be a massive subterranean cave. Rivers of sparkling water and colorful dyes flowed alongside of each other. Giant stone eggs carved with intricate designs strolled casually through the rolling hills and meadows. A gentle breeze that carried a pleasantly warm air ruffled his orange mane.

"Whoa..." was all he could manage to say at the scene in front of him. Bunny chuckled.

"Come on, let me show ya around."

The next few hours were spent by Bunny giving a tour of his home to the young dragon. Xīn showed great interest in the giant stone globe that was covered in moss and shined with the lights of every believer, but steered clear of the duck pond. He found it curious that he saw no eggs yet and brought it up.

"Eggs are perishable. I have to wait a few weeks before Easter before I can even begin making them. Can't have them go bad before I even hide them, can I?"

"Hang on, if you wait until a few weeks before to prepare the eggs, how come you're too busy to teach me?"

"I still need to get the dyes and paints ready. Not to mention planning on where to hide each and every one. That takes time."

Bunny eventually took him to the top of a large slope that looked out over the Warren. A cave gaped at them from rock wall to their left.

"This where you'll be stayin'." He said, heading into the cave. Its main room was the size of a lobby in a business building and had several tunnels leading off from it. "Those two lead to just empty rooms, so you can choose which one you want to sleep in." The pooka pointed to each tunnel as he described what they led to. "That one is the washroom. And that one is a dead end."

"Thanks for letting me stay here." The young dragon said with a bow of his head.

"Don't mention it. I'm going to go see if the others have made any progress. Make yourself at home, but don't set anything on fire!" With that, the Guardian of Hope disappeared into one of his tunnels. Left alone, Xīn began to explore his new living quarters.

Ignoring the washroom and dead end tunnels, he picked the one farthest to the right. It twisted to the left after several yards and opened up into a cave half the size of the main entrance. Nothing in particular stuck out to him, so he went to examine the final tunnel. Like the first one, it turned right after several yards. However, it soon turned right again and slanted upwards. He followed it until he came upon a cave that was slightly bigger than the entrance. A crevice along the far wall let light shine in. He moved over to it and gasped when he glanced out.

He was directly above the cave entrance and could see the entire Warren from this height. It took his breath away.

"Found my room." He mumbled to himself as he gazed out at the scenery.

"Hey Xīn! You in here?" A voice called from below. Leaning out of the natural window, the young spirit looked down to see Jack and North standing in front of the cave.

"I'm up here!" He shouted down to them. "Take the tunnel farthest to the left!" The dragon was soon joined by the two Guardians who looked about, examining the cave. "What do you think? I'm thinking of making this one my room."

"A bit empty if you ask me." Jack said.

"Well yeah. It _is _a cave. Not to mention I have no personal belongings anymore."

"We'll have to fix that." North said, pulling out a snow globe. It was smaller than his portal globes, but the inside still swirled with magical energy. "Stand back." Once they had retreated to the entryway, the large Russian threw the globe at the ground, causing it to shatter. A blinding flash exploded out of the spot along with a strong wind. They covered their faces with their arms to block out the harsh light. Before too long, the wind and light faded. Xīn's jaw dropped as he opened his eyes.

What had once been a bare, cold cavern was now a completely furnished bedroom. An orb that floated near the ceiling glowed warmly, providing light. A plush, red carpet with Chinese designs covered the stone floor. A fireplace was set into the wall opposite the window which now had dark orange curtains framing it. A book case that reached to the ceiling stood next to a dresser that, to the dragon's surprise, held the same ornate mirror that the moon had made when he first woke up. In the corner where the walls that had the fireplace and dresser met was a raised platform that held a large slab of black stone that sat perpendicular to the corner. Several cushions where lying around it. On the wall opposite of the bookcase was a desk that had-

"Is that a computer?!" He gasped as he stared at the large monitor that had a red trim as well as a matching keyboard and mouse.

"Of course it is! How else would you be able to, how they say, 'swim the web'?"

"It's 'surf the web'." Jack corrected.

"Wait, spirits get internet access?"

"Yeah we do! Just type in .mim instead of .com for whatever website you're using and you're all set." The winter spirit explained.

"So I could check my Facebook and YouTube accounts?" The dragon said excitedly.

"Yeah, but no one will see anything you update except other spirits."

"What about deviantART? As long as I don't reveal my identity, others should be able to see my entries, right?"

"I don't use deviantART so I wouldn't know. But I do know a couple of spirits who would. I'll ask them for you."

North stared at the pair as they chatted about the modern websites, not understanding a word of it.

"I think we lost Nick." Xīn said, noticing his confusion.

"Oh! Almost forgot! The internet isn't the only thing we have." Jack swirled his hand in the air and a light blue cellphone appeared. "We get phones too!"

"This I understand!" The Russian said, summoning his own phone which was the same red as his sleigh.

"Cool! How do I get mine?"

"Just imagine what you want yours to look like and reach out to grab it." The dragon did as instructed, pulling an orange phone out of thin air.

"Awesome!" He began to scroll through the features. "Huh. That's weird. It won't tell me my own number…"

"That's because you get to pick it." North said. "Well, the last four digits at least."

"Why only the last four?"

"The first three are always 656 for any spirit." Jack explained.

"646… Oh I get it! It stands for MiM! Clever! As for the last four numbers… I've got it! 1200!"

"Why that?"

"12:00 is midnight. What better for the spirit of New Year's?"

"Ha! I like it!" North said as he began to register the number in his phone, Jack doing the same. They then gave him their numbers in return as well as the other Guardians'.

"Hey." Xīn said, noticing something about his new room for the first time as he put his phone away. "Where's my bed?"

"Over there." North said, pointing to the rock slab. "Rose said it is most comfortable for dragons to sleep on."

"Are you sure?" The young spirit asked as he walked over to it.

"Try it out and see for yourself."

Xīn complied, walking in a circle before curling up on the stone. A pleased expression crossed his face.

"Hmm… You weren't kidding. I think I'll take a little nap here…"

"We'll let you sleep then." The Guardian of Wonder said as he ushered Jack out.

"I'll text Bunny to come and get us." The winter spirit said.

"Bah! Kids and their texting! It's so much better to have actual conversation with someone. Even better when it's face to face! In fact-"

Xīnnián chuckled as he listened to North's lecture on the importance of social interaction. His voice eventually faded, allowing the young dragon to fall into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**What's this? Quinn Wu is evolving! Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-doooo! Congratulations! Your Quinn Wu evolved into a Xīnnián! Xīnnián is trying to learn Firecracker! Would you like to delete a move to make room for Firecracker? **

**GASP! 5000 words and not a single line-break! I'm so proud of myself!**

**So I have no idea when this will update next because I need to work on my other fics as well. (BTW, check out my other RotG fic "Daddy Issues"!)**

**So what do you all think of Xīn? Is it too confusing to have his name/identity change all of a sudden? Does anything seem rushed? Let me know in a review!**

**And remember! If you have any ideas for chapter titles OR if you want to beta for this story OR if you want an OC to cameo _PLEASE _let me know! **

**Until later!**

**-Ink**


	5. Apology

_**Um, hey there everyone/everypony, how's it going? This is just a quick update to apologize for my severe lack of activity on here. It's just… I feel as if I've lost my muse. Being able to write always depended on my mood, so this is kind of serious. So those reading my three fics, I apologize as they may not be updated in a while. However! You can help by constantly sending me PM's asking on the progress of the chapters or giving me suggestions as I desperately need them. That may be enough to put me in the writing mood or maybe not. It all depends on you guys! So until the next update (whenever THAT may be), talk to you later!**_


	6. Update

**Hey guys! Just a quick update on stuff. **

**First off, I'm still on temporary hiatus due to my lack of motivation. : ( Sorry about that. If you want to help me get over it there is a simple task I have for you: **_**DON'T STOP PESTERING ME.**_** I'm serious. PM me constantly telling me to get off my lazy butt and get to work; you don't even have to be nice about it. Also, give me LOTS of ideas. I started these fics without really planning them out so I need all the help I can get. Although, now that I mention it, I may not have as much time as before to work on these…**

**Which brings me to my second announcement: I'm getting a job! I'm being hired by a janitorial service to work at the Amazon warehouse here in my hometown. I work 4 days a week, 10 hours a day. I don't know my schedule so I don't know which three days I'm getting off. But I'll try my best to find time to work on my stories!**

**Now for today's final topic: I'm starting a poll! Why? Because, counting my currently three on-going fics, I have 10 stories I really want to write. So, I'm going to see which ones you guys would be most interested in! I'll be including summaries of most of the stories in the poll including the three on-going. I need you all to vote for your **_**TOP 5**_**.**** I'll focus most of my effort on the most popular ideas, so make sure you vote! You'll be able to find it on my profile!**

**Once again, I'm sorry for the lack of updates. But hopefully you can help change that! Until next time!**

**-Ink**


	7. BIG Update

**Ok guys, this is just another update on what's going on, and it's a biggie: I think I have figured out why I'm having this writer's block for all my stories. The problem is twofold. **

**First, I rushed into writing these and the low quality of the previous chapters makes me cringe. **

**Second, I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen next in each story. Oh, I have plenty of ideas, but that's the problem. I've been hit with so many plot bunnies of my own making and from your great suggestions that I have no idea which direction to go anymore. **

**So, I have come up with a solution that you may not like: I'm rebooting each story so they'll be more fleshed out and have better quality. **

**Now before you panic, let me explain how I plan on doing this. First, I'm going to write down all my ideas for each story and organize them into a chronological timeline. Then, I'm going to write out summaries of each and every chapter. THEN, I'm going to start re-writing the chapters using the timelines/summaries. When I have four or five chapters of each story completed/proofread by my betas, I'll re-post the first chapter of each **_**IN A SEPARATE STORY**_**. Let me repeat that so you don't misunderstand: **_**WHEN I HAVE COMPLETED RE-WRITING THE CHAPTERS THEY WILL BE POSTED AS SEPARATE STORIES**_**. Then, every time I complete a new chapter, I will already have one proofread so I can post it immediately. And don't worry; I'll keep the originals of each story up even after the re-boots are posted. I'll update these again when I do post the re-boots as well.**

**Now, the following applies to those reading ****Resolute Spirit****. As you know, I've been accepting OC's from you guys to have cameos within the story. I have found an inconsistency with the story and some of your OC's. In chapter 3, Bunny says that Jack is the last spirit MiM has ever created. However, in some of the backstories of your characters, they were made AFTER Jack. See the problem with this? **

**So, I've made a decision: **_**IF YOU WANT YOUR OC TO BE IN THE RE-BOOT, YOU'LL NEED TO EITHER CREATE AN ENTIRELY NEW OC OR UPDATE THEIR BACKSTORY **__**AND THEN SEND IT TO ME IN A -/PM/-!**__** IF YOU DON'T SEND IT TO ME THROUGH A PM, I WON'T ACCEPT IT!**_

**Here's a list of those who have sent me OC's:**

**Charlie Moosefeather**

**dragonbird23**

**The Dangerous One**

**Rosemary**

**Wow… I thought there were more of them than that… Anywho, I'll be sending these 4 PM's about this as well later. And just because I'm re-booting the story doesn't mean I'm not accepting any more OC's! Just give me the following information **_**IN A PM**_**: Name, Appearance, Gender, What they're the spirit of, Age (optional), Powers (include center), and Backstory (please be detailed and make it several paragraphs long). **

**Now here's what I'm **_**NOT**_** looking for: Any spirit made after Jack Frost; a spirit for Valentine's Day/love; a 4****th**** of July spirit; Mary Sues/Gary Stus (this one is a given); a spirit for Chinese New Year; M-Preg love-child of Jack and Quinn/Xin (this actually happened); children/relatives of any of the characters; love interests for any of the characters; the Muses.**

**What I **_**AM**_ **looking for: Spirits of any holiday, legend, or natural phenomenon not listed above (ex: Arbor Day, rain, Bermuda Triangle); HUMANS, especially friends for Quinn for when he was alive; VILLIANS, can be big baddies or bumbling minions.**

**I can't fit every OC into the story as I have plenty of mine own as well, so it's first-come first-serve. Once I reach a certain amount of OC's (about 15-20) I'll stop accepting them. I'm also going to be taking top priority to the OC's that fit in the HUMANS and VILLIANS category, but I'll only accept a certain amount of those as well. Also, if I find any of the OC's submitted to be sub-par, I won't take them and let you know so you can have a chance to fix them. **

**One more thing before we move on: You **_**CAN**_**, and are encouraged to, submit more than one OC. **_**BUT THEY MUST BE IN A SEPARATE PMS!**_

**Moving on, this is a shout out to anyone who is currently one of my beta's or editors. **_**IF WE'VE HAD PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS ABOUT BEING MY BETA/EDITOR, PLEASE SEND ME A PM. EVEN IF WE HAVE A CURRENTLY ON-GOING PM SEND ME A NEW ONE SO I KNOW YOU'VE READ THIS. I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP WITH THIS WHOLE PROCESS. ALSO IF ANYONE WANTS TO BE A BETA/EDITOR FOR ANY OF MY STORIES, SEND ME A PM AS WELL AND WE'LL DISCUSS IT.**_

**And even if you're not one of my beta's, I could still use the help of all you faithful readers! How? **_**DO NOT LEAVE ME ALONE.**_** Seriously, pester the heck out of me. Constantly send me PM's asking about my progress. Tell family, friends, or complete strangers to pester me. Give me your ideas for the story. Heck, bother me on my dA account which I check more often. I have the same username there as here. **_**JUST KEEP BOTHERING ME.**_

**There's one more thing I want to ask of you. To prove who my more loyal readers are and see who read this entire message, I want you guys to leave a review with the word "Transcendentality" somewhere in it. Including my beta's. It doesn't have to have anything else in the review and it doesn't matter if you've been following this story, or just found it. **

**One last thing. I have a poll open that has ten story ideas of mine to choose from. So far, 14 people have voted but that's still not enough. If you haven't voted yet please do! If you have voted, let me know in a review! Remember: vote for your top 5 favorite choices.**

**I do believe that's all I have to say for the moment. **

**Until next time.**

**-Ink**


End file.
